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The ABT Banshee Screams for Attention
(continued)
  Retrieving:
Once in the water the Banshee can be retrieved at varying speeds and depths
allowing it to be worked as a shallow water swimbait or even like a jerkbait.
Plainly put this lure “screams” for attention at low speed retrieves where it
slinks back and forth tantalizingly like a underwater snake, and during high
speed burns where is comes back to the boat with a very aggressive tail whipping
action.
The Banshee is quite lightweight
due to the very thin overall profile
Clear, stained,
or even murky water are all fishable with this lure as the Banshee puts out so
much movement and flash that it garners plenty of attention, and is a great lure
to use during a reaction bite. Throughout the tests bass would follow the lure
and commit the minute we accelerated or jerked the bait forward. While effective
for bass this lure proved excellent for Striped Bass, and the colors with more
white and blue in them were absolutely deadly in both shallow water and mid way
through the water column. The ability to count down and allow the Banshee to
drop to desired depths made this lure very effective and there were times we
could see multiple Stripers give chase in an effort to compete for the bait.
The Banshee can be retrieved at
various speeds and we got a lot of our strikes when ripping the bait or fishing
it like a jerkbait
Durability:
ABT also wanted to make the lures more durable, and while some other hard
swimbait manufacturers around this price range use plastic to attach the jointed
sections of their lures ABT employs rugged steel connectors.
The four segments are connected
with stainless steel hardware
During our
tests Stripers were able to bend the hooks but we didn’t have any of our test
baits break apart. Some swimbaits make use of a soft replaceable tail which can
be a pain to deal with over time and the Banshee eliminates the need for
additional maintenance with a rigid molded tail that is painted in the same
pattern as the rest of the lure, making the transition between segments more
natural looking.
No replaceable soft tail on this
bait, the Banshee features a hard tail that matches the finish
Price and
Applications:
ABT will likely sell the bulk of the Banshee lures in the smaller two sizes
which retail for only $10.99 and $12.99 respectively, not only are these a great
value but they are good for targeting largemouth and stripers. Those anglers
interested in only targeting larger fish can opt for the 8” version which
retails for $17.99 but we really think the sweet spot is the 6 inch version and
were able to catch just as quality fish with the mid-sized bait.
The second treble hook is cleverly
attached below the rear fin
This swimbait
is very aggressively priced and anglers don’t have to stress about losing them
nearly as much as the custom built swimbaits that can cost many times more. The
Banshee also offers a lot of flexibility to anglers as it can be fished at any
speed or depth, can be trolled at the surface, or even downrigged effectively.
Ratings:
(We've
re-calibrated our
ratings standard for
2008 and have
included a key at
the bottom of the
following matrix as
a guide):
|
ABT
Lures
Banshee
Swimbait
Ratings
(?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
The
Banshee
is well
built
and
makes
use of
stainless
steel
components
in the
joints
and
there is
no soft
tail to
switch
out. The
finishes
look
very
good but
the lure
does
exhibit
a mass
produced
feel,
still
the Blue
Back
Herring
and
Threadfin
Shad
patterns
look
absolutely
fantastic |
8 |
|
Performance |
This is
not the
easiest
swimbait
to cast
and the
lightweight
thinner
design
can
cause
the lure
to catch
the air
and flip
around,
the
light
overall
weight
of the
smaller
sizes
also
makes
this
bait a
bit too
light
for
traditional
swimbait
rods.
Once in
the
water
the lure
garners
a lot of
attention
drawing
followers
and
strikes.
It is
effective
for bass
and a
great
choice
for
targeting
Stripers |
8 |
|
Price |
The
Banshee
costs
the same
as some
jerkbaits,
and
kudos to
the
company
for
delivering
a
realistic
looking
four
segment
bait at
a
"great"
price |
8.5 |
|
Features |
The
multi-jointed
design
delivers
exceptional
motion
and
flash
and the
image
transfer
patterns
can fool
both
fish and
fishermen |
8 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
Though
casting
is a bit
of an
issue
and this
bait is
light
for
traditional
swimbait
rods one
side-effect
is that
this
bait can
be
fished
with
traditional
casting
rods
quite
easily.
The
Banshee
doesn't
have
much of
a
learning
curve
during
the
retrieve
and is
effective
at
multiple
depths
and
retrieve
speeds
giving
it a
"good"
rating
in this
category |
7 |
|
Application |
The two
smaller
sizes
are
great
for
fishing
for
numbers
while
the 8"
version
is good
for
culling
for
bigger
fish or
trophy
Stripers.
Though
good for
standard
retrieves
or
ripping
this is
also an
excellent
lure for
trolling
and
holds up
well
even
when
targeting
bigger
fish |
8 |
|
Total
Score
|
7.91 |
Ratings
Key:
1 =
terrible
: 2 =
poor : 3
=
lacking
: 4 =
sub par
: 5 =
mediocre
: 6 =
fair : 7
= good :
8 =
great :
9 =
excellent
: 10 =
unbelievable!
For More
Details
of the
updated
rating
system
visit
our
explanation
here |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus
|
|
+
Able to
target
multiple
depths
effectively,
even
trolled |
-
Smaller
sizes
are not
the
easiest
swimbaits
to cast
long
distances |
|
+
Can be
fished
both
fast and
slow |
|
|
+
Realistic
finishes |
|
|
+
Great
for
targeting
Stripers |
|
|
+
A very
reasonable
price |
|
Conclusion: Allan
knows how to build swimbaits and his designs deliver both a function and value.
There are a lot of expensive handmade swimbaits on the market, the Banshee is
designed to be accessible to all anglers, and because it can be fished with
lighter gear it doesn't require a traditional heavy swimbait rod. The Banshee's
finishes are well implemented but the real magic with this bait is once the lure
is in the water and the lure undulates back and forth like a snake back to the
boat. It may not be the easiest swimbait to cast but it is among the easiest to
retrieve. Cranked in slow, fast, or jerked and paused the Banshee puts out a
serious amount of flash in the water.
The Banshee garners plenty of
attention from both bass and stripers and is a good lure to use when the fish
are on a reaction bite
Screaming for attention the
Banshee gets tailed by bass and its thrilling to see Stripers compete with one
another to destroy this fleeing bait. It is a good thing that the Banshee makes
use of steel components in the hinges because this is a great lure to target
Stripers and the ability to fish it quickly throughout the water column makes it
twice as deadly.
Looking for the ABT Banshee Swimbait? Try
Tackle Warehouse
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